1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a gun sling and, more particularly, is concerned with a fall-away gun sling attachment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Slings have been employed with hand-carried firearms by both hunters and military personnel for many years. Such slings which can be placed over the users' shoulders typically extend between and interconnected with respective front and rear portions of the barrel and stock of the firearms. The main purpose of a sling is to support the weight of the firearm from a user's shoulder and thereby relieve the user from the burden of carrying the firearm (normally a rifle or shotgun) with his or her arm except during those periods of time in which it is anticipated that the firearm will be used or is actually being used.
Representative examples of the slings proposed in the prior patent art for this purpose are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Arpin (2,828,058 and 2,885,812), Moomaw (2,915,233), Gossler (3,182,871), Brokus (3,606,109), Johnson (4,555,051; 4,571,872; and 4,823,998), Phelps (4,691,852) and Niemela (4,819,844). For a sling serving this purpose to be satisfactory it meet certain performance requirements. First, the sling must allow the user to carry the firearm in a ready position in comfort from his or her shoulder, allowing the user to use his or her hands for other purposes while carrying the firearm in this position. Second, the sling must permit the user to quickly bring the firearm to a firing position without removing anything and without interference with the movement of the firearm to and placement at the firing position. While some of these prior art slings of the above-cited patents may minimally meet these performance requirements, most of them are either too complicated in their constructions to be practical or lack the structural sturdiness to be reliable after an extended period of use.
Consequently, it is perceived by the inventor of the present invention that a need still exists for a gun sling of suitable construction and function.